Information Processing Apparatus and Method of Operating the Same

ABSTRACT

Using a service server list containing addresses of servers within a service system and an application list containing names of active applications within the service system, addresses of servers on which the active applications are running, and communication source addresses and communication destination addresses of the active applications, the following processes are carried out: specifying applications of a first layer in the service system from among applications lying within the service system; specifying applications of a second or subsequent layer in the service system from the application list and from addresses of servers on which the applications of the first layer are running; and judging applications having the same application name among applications belonging to the same layer as being of the same role for aggregation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims a priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2008-299972 filed on Nov. 25, 2008, the content of whichherein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an information processingapparatus and a method of operating the same, and, more particularly, toan information processing apparatus and a method of operating theinformation processing apparatus, capable of easily and simply graspingthe configuration of active applications in an environment where aplurality of applications are running on a plurality of servers.

2. Description of the Related Art

To effectively manage operations of an IT-based service system, it iscommonly necessary to correctly grasp the current system configuration.On the other hand, recent service system is getting larger and largerdue to introduction of system linkage technique, server virtualizationtechnique, etc. When such a large-scale service system is to be managed,a difficulty may occur to the system administrator to correctly managethe current configuration of the service system. Because of such adifficulty, the system administrator may experience delay in recognizingor may fail to recognize any failure or configurational change of theservice system, which may result in enormous damage to the service.

A prior art of Japanese Patent No. 3177999 specification is an exampleof a method of automatically displaying the configuration information ofa service system. Japanese Patent No. 3177999 specification discloses amethod of automatically creating a system configuration diagram based ondefinition information describing the contents of a plurality ofprocesses making up the system.

In accordance with the technique described in the above patent document,the system configuration diagram is automatically created by an outputmeans that displays or prints out names of a plurality of groupsobtained by classifying a service system. A specific procedure toautomatically create the system configuration diagram is carried out bya means that, through the entry of the system administrator, stores aseries of processes of the service system for featuring the groupsclassified when putting together the service system (e.g., the contentof a process is whether the record is to be written when the definitionelement is a file), a means that analyzes processes of the servicesystem to be classified and compares the results with a series ofprestored processes to judge to which group the service system belongs,and the output means that displays or prints out the name of theclassified group.

The method of the above patent document necessitates a processing unitthat stores a series of processes of the service system for featuringthe classified groups and requests the system administrator to enter theseries of processes of the service system stored by the processing unit.The system administrator enters know-hows of the processes within theservice system. Thus, to deal with a new process, maintenance of theknow-hows is needed. If old know-hows are used intactly without anymaintenance, the processes beyond the know-hows cannot be dealt with.Therefore, the service system executing such the processes cannot createcorrect service system configuration diagrams. This means that thesystem administrator cannot grasp the correct configuration of thecurrent service system.

When displaying definition elements on a display screen of a managementcomputer, if a multiplicity of service systems are to be administered,the definition elements cannot lie on a single screen because theirdisplay are not aggregated. This may render it difficult to grasp at aglance how many service systems exist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the object of the present invention to enable theconfiguration of active applications to easily and simply be grasped inan environment where a plurality of applications is running on aplurality of servers.

In order to achieve the above and other objects, one aspect of thepresent invention provides an information processing apparatuscommunicatively coupled via a network to servers on which a plurality ofapplications are running for operating a service system, the informationprocessing apparatus comprising a storage unit that stores networkaddresses of the servers, storing, in a correlated manner, applicationidentification information as information for identifying theapplications, active server addresses as network addresses of theservers on which the applications are running, and communication sourceaddresses of the applications; and an application aggregating unitacquiring from the storage unit and comparing the applicationidentification information, the addresses of the servers correspondingthereto, and communication source addresses of the applications, so thatwhen it is judged that the communication source addresses do notcoincide with any of the addresses of the servers, the applicationaggregating unit judges the applications having the applicationidentification information as being applications belonging to a firstlayer in the service system, acquiring from the storage unit andcomparing application identification information of the applicationsjudged as belonging to the first layer, the active server addresses ofthe applications, and the application identification information andcommunication source addresses of applications other than theapplications judged as belonging to the first layer, so that theapplication aggregating unit judges applications having the applicationidentification information correlated to the communication sourceaddresses identical to the active server addresses as belonging to asecond layer; and continuing acquiring from the storage unitcommunication source addresses of applications other than theapplications judged as belonging to the first and the second layer, torepeat the judgment process to judge the layers of each applicationscontained in the service system.

The other problems and solutions thereof disclosed herein will becomeapparent when reading the detailed description of the invention whilereferring to the accompanying drawings.

According to the present invention, the configuration of activeapplications can be easily and simply grasped in the environment where aplurality of applications is active in a plurality of servers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary configuration of theinformation processing system 1;

FIG. 2 depicts, by way of example, a configuration diagram ofapplications before aggregation and a configuration diagram ofapplications aggregated by a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a service execution server list;

FIG. 4 depicts an example of an application list;

FIG. 5 depicts an example of an application role configuration list;

FIG. 6 depicts an example of an aggregated application list;

FIG. 7 depicts an example of an aggregated application communicationlist;

FIG. 8 depicts an example of a service system list;

FIG. 9 depicts an example of an application configuration baseline;

FIG. 10 depicts an example of an application configuration change list;

FIG. 11 depicts an example of a setting change apply list;

FIG. 12 depicts an example of a physical/logical(virtual) server list;

FIG. 13 depicts an example of a shared application list;

FIG. 14 is an exemplary hardware configuration diagram of a server suchas an operation management computer;

FIG. 15 is an exemplary flowchart of a general procedure effected by theinformation processing system according to the first embodiment:

FIG. 16 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifyingapplications of a first layer according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 17 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifyingapplications of a second or subsequent layer according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 18 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifying roles ofapplications according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 19 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifyingcommunications between aggregated applications according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 20 is an exemplary detailed flowchart of a procedure for specifyingcommunications between aggregated applications according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a problem involved in anenvironment where a plurality of service systems mixedly coexist;

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of a problem involved in sharing ofapplications by the plurality of service systems;

FIG. 23 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifying servicesystems according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifying servicesystems to which applications of the first layer belong according to thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 25 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifyingapplications shared by a plurality of service systems according to thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 26 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifyingapplications running on virtual servers working on the same physicalserver according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 27 is an exemplary configuration diagram of applications aggregatedby a procedure of a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifying changesin the configuration according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 29 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifying changesin the communication status of applications according to the thirdembodiment;

FIG. 30 is an exemplary flowchart of a setting change procedureaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 31 is an exemplary flowchart of a service system specifyingprocedure according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 32 is an exemplary flowchart of a procedure for specifying roles ofapplications according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of an informationprocessing system 1 according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 2 depicts, by way of example, a configuration diagramapplications before aggregation and a configuration diagram ofapplications aggregated and displayed by the first embodiment.

The information processing system 1 of the first embodiment includes anoperation management server 100, an operation management terminal 11,and a service execution server 102, which are communicatively coupled toone another by way of a network 1109. Although the details will bedescribed later, the operation management server 100, the operationmanagement terminal 101, and the service execution server 102 arecomputers each having a typical hardware configuration, provided with aCPU, memories (RAM, ROM, etc.), a data I/O interface, a communicationinterface (NIC, etc.), an auxiliary storage device (disk device, etc.)storing software programs, entry devices such as a keyboard and a mouse,a display device, and an output device such as a printer.

Functional blocks (e.g., an application aggregating unit 106 of theoperation management server 100) assigned to the operation managementserver 100, the operation management terminal 101, and the serviceexecution server 102 are implemented by the CPU reading in a memory andexecuting a software program for that function which is stored in theauxiliary storage device.

The operation management server 100 will first be described. Theoperation management server 100 is a server computer that executes aprocedure to aggregate and display applications running in the serviceexecution server 102 which will be described later. The operationmanagement server 100 includes a transmitter/receiver unit 103, a systemconfiguration managing unit 104, an application role specifying unit105, the application aggregating unit 106, an application configurationdiagram creating unit 107, a service system specifying unit 108, aconfiguration change managing unit 109, a settings change managing unit110, and a storage unit 111.

The transmitter/receiver unit 103 executes a communication process forthe operation management server 100. The transmitter/receiver unit 103allocates information received via the network 1109 from the operationmanagement terminal 101 or the service execution server 102 to theprocessing units of the operation management server 100 which arespecified by the received information. The transmitter/receiver unit 103sends out via the network 1109 information to be sent to the operationmanagement terminal 101 and the service execution server 102 by theprocessing units of the operation management server 100.

The system configuration managing unit 104 stores, depending on theinput data type, input data received from the operation managementterminal 101 into a service execution server list 200, an applicationlist 300, or an application configuration baseline 800 which are storedin the storage unit 111, which will be described later.

The application role specifying unit 105 specifies, for an applicationrunning in a computer to be managed by the operation management server100, a role of the application in a service system. The object ofmanagement is a computer whose operation is to be managed by theoperation management server 100. In this embodiment, it is the serviceexecution server 102.

As used herein, the term “role of the application” represents each ofgroups classified by names of applications for each of applicationlayers which will be described later. As used herein, the term“application layer” means “the communication order of applications inthe service system communicated from the exterior of the servicesystem”. That is, an application firstly communicated from the exteriorof the service system is an application of a layer 1 (a first layer); anapplication communicated from the application of the layer 1 is anapplication of a layer 2; and an application communicated from theapplication of the layer 2 is an application of a layer 3.

The application role specifying unit 105 manages an application roleconfiguration list 400 which will be described later. Upon receiving amessage requiring to specify an application role, the application rolespecifying unit 105 reads the service execution server list 200 and theapplication list 300 from the storage unit 111 to specify an applicationrole for storage in the application role configuration list 400 of thestorage unit 111.

The application aggregating unit 106 specifies the role of each ofapplications to store information on groups which will be describedlater into the application role configuration list 400 and an aggregatedapplication list 500 which will be described later. The applications areclassified into a single group or a plurality of groups of each rolebased on information on those applications. In the first embodiment, theapplications are grouped based on the role and the name of thoseapplications.

The application aggregating unit 106 reads the application roleconfiguration list 400 from the storage unit 111 to count the number ofapplications having the same role for storage in the aggregatedapplication list 500 of the storage unit 111.

In a second and a third embodiments which will be described later, theapplication aggregating unit 106 reads a service system list 700 or anapplication configuration change list 900, in addition to theapplication list 300 and the application role configuration list 400,from the storage unit 111, to specify the roles of the applications.

The application aggregating unit 106 reads the application list 300, theapplication role configuration list 400, and the aggregated applicationlist 500 from the storage unit 111, to specify a role as a communicationsource and a role as a communication destination for each of the roles,for storage in an aggregated application communication list 600, whichwill be described later, of the storage unit 111.

The application configuration diagram creating unit 107 reads theaggregated application list 500 and the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600 from the storage unit 111 to create anapplication configuration diagram. FIG. 2 depicts examples ofapplication configuration diagrams before and after aggregationaccording to the first embodiment. As shown in the aggregatedapplication configuration diagram, the application configuration diagramcreating unit 107 creates data for grouping applications by roles fordisplay on a single screen so as not to exceed the size of video datamaking up one screen of a monitor screen provided on the operationmanagement server 100.

The service system specifying unit 108 reads the application roleconfiguration list 400 and the application list 300 for connection of arole 1 application to Web to store a title displayed as a result thereofin the service system list 700.

The configuration change managing unit 109 reads the application list300 and the application configuration baseline 800, which will bedescribed later, from the storage unit 111 to specify contents of thechange from the application configuration baseline 800 for storage inthe application configuration change list 900, which will be describedlater.

Upon receiving a setting change request from the operation managementterminal 101, the setting change managing unit 110 reads the applicationlist 300 and the application role configuration list 400 from thestorage unit 111 to specify an application whose setting is to bechanged and a server in which that application is active, fortransmission of the setting contents to that server.

The storage unit 111 is a storage that stores information required toimplement an operation management procedure by the operation managementserver 100.

The storage unit 111 stores the service execution server list 200, theapplication list 300, the application role configuration list 400, theaggregated application list 500, the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600, the service system list 700, the applicationconfiguration baseline 800, the application configuration change list900, a setting change apply list 1000, a physical/logical(virtual)server list 1200, and a shared application list 1300.

The service execution server list 200 is table-format data and storesaddresses of servers such as the service execution server 102 to bemanaged by the operation management server 100. The “address” is anidentifier allowing a server to be uniquely specified.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a service execution server list 200. Theservice execution server list 200 stores in rows addresses of servers tobe managed by the operation management server 100. The service executionserver list 200 has a service execution server address column 201. Theservice execution server address column 201 stores addresses allowingunique specification of servers to be managed by the operationmanagement server 100.

Through the operation management terminal 101, the system administratorenters information shown in the service execution server list 200 sothat the system configuration managing unit 104 stores the enteredinformation into the service execution server list 200 of the storageunit 111. The system configuration managing unit 104 may store in theservice execution server list 200 results of address lists of theservice servers which are collected using separate tools or utilitiesand received from the transmitter/receiver unit 103.

The application list 300 is table-format data and it stores informationof applications running on servers such as the service execution server102 to be managed by the operation management server 100. FIG. 4 depictsan example of the application list 300. The application list 300 storesin rows information of applications. The application list 300 has anapplication identifier column 301, a server address column 302, anapplication name column 303, a communication source address column 304,and a communication destination address column 305. The applicationidentifier column 301 stores application identifiers as identificationinformation uniquely specifying applications. The server address column302 stores addresses specifying servers having active applications, bywhich addresses correlations are made with the service execution servers102 specified by the service execution server address column 201. Theapplication name column 303 stores names (e.g., product names) ofapplications. The communication source address column 304 storesaddresses of servers on which active applications are sendingcommunications to respective applications. The communication destinationaddress column 305 stores addresses of servers on which activeapplications are receiving communications from applications.

Through the operation management terminal 101, the system administratorenters information shown in the application list 300 so that the systemconfiguration managing unit 104 stores the entered information in theapplication list 300 of the storage unit 111. The system configurationmanaging unit 104 may store in the application list 300 information ofapplications running on the service system which are collected usingseparate tools or utilities and received from the transmitter/receiverunit 103.

The application role configuration list 400 is table-format data and ithas information on roles of applications in the service system stored inthe application list 300. FIG. 5 depicts an example of the applicationrole configuration list 400. The application role configuration list 400stores information specifying the roles of applications in respectiverows. The application role configuration list 400 has an applicationidentifier column 401, a layer identifier column 402, and a roleidentifier column 403. The application identifier column 401 storesapplication identifiers as identification information specifyingapplications, by which identification information correlations are madewith the application information specified by the application identifiercolumn 301 of the application list 300. The layer identifier column 402stores identifier information specifying the layers of applicationsspecified by the application role specifying unit 105. The roleidentifier column 403 stores identifier information specifying the rolesof applications specified by the application role specifying unit 105.

The application role specifying unit 105 stores in the application roleconfiguration list 400 the layers and the roles of applicationsspecified based on the contents of the service execution server list 200and the application list 300. The application aggregating unit 106stores the identifiers specifying the layers and the roles ofapplications in the application role configuration list 400, based onthe contents of the application list 300 and the application roleconfiguration list 400.

The aggregated application list 500 is table-format data and it storesinformation on roles of applications classified by the applicationaggregating unit 106. FIG. 6 depicts an example of the aggregatedapplication list 500. The aggregated application list 500 storesinformation on the roles of applications in respective columns. Theaggregated application list 500 has a role identifier column 501, anapplication name column 502, and a within-role number-of-applicationscolumn 503.

The role identifier column 501 stores identification informationspecifying roles of applications, by which identifier informationcorrelations are made with role information of applications specified bythe role identifier column 403. The application name column 502 storesthe names of applications within roles. The within-rolenumber-of-applications column 503 stores the number of applicationsfalling within each of the roles.

The application aggregating unit 106 stores the role information of eachof applications into the aggregated application list 500, based on thecontents of the application list 300 and the application roleconfiguration list 400. The application aggregating unit 106 stores therole information on each of applications into the aggregated applicationlist 500, based on the contents of the application list 300 and theapplication role configuration list 400 as well as the contents of theservice system list 700 and/or the application configuration change list900, which will both be described later. The number of applicationsfalling within each of roles counted by the application aggregating unit106 is stored in the aggregated application list 500.

The aggregated application communication list 600 is table-format dataand it stores role-to-role communication information. FIG. 7 depicts anexample of the aggregated application communication list 600. Theaggregated application communication list 600 stores information oncommunications between roles in respective rows. The aggregatedapplication communication list 600 has a communication source roleidentifier column 601 and a communication destination role identifiercolumn 602. The communication source role identifier column 601 storesidentification information specifying the role of an information sendingparty in a communication. By this identifier information, correlationsare made with the role information of applications specified by the roleidentifier column 501 of the aggregated application list 500. Thecommunication destination role identifier column 602 storesidentification information specifying the role of an informationreceiving party in the communication. By this identifier information,correlations are made with role information of applications specified bythe role identifier column 501 of the aggregated application list 500.

The application aggregating unit 106 stores the role-to-rolecommunication information specified based on the application list 300and the application role configuration list 400 into the aggregatedapplication communication list 600.

The service system list 700 is table-format data and it storesinformation on service systems and correlations between the servicesystems and applications used therein. The service systems are systemsexecuting service processes required to operate a company such as sales,production, accounting, and physical distribution, and exemplifiedtypically by a financial management system, a pay management system, anonline purchase system, and a service management system. FIG. 8 depictsan example of the service system list 700.

The service system list 700 stores information on service systems andcorrelations between the service systems and applications used thereinin respective rows. The service system list 700 has an applicationidentifier column 701, a service system name column 702, and a roleidentifier column 703. The application identifier column 701 storesapplication identifiers as identification information specifyingapplications. This identifier information allows correlations withinformation of applications specified by the application identifiercolumn 301 of the application list 300. The service system name column702 stores names of service systems (e.g., the financial managementsystem). The role identifier column 703 stores identificationinformation specifying roles of applications. This identifierinformation allows correlations with role information of applicationsspecified by the role identifier column 403 of the application roleconfiguration list 400 and by the role identifier column 501 of theaggregated application list 500.

The service system specifying unit 108 stores in the service system list700 the information on service systems to which belong applicationsspecified based on the contents described in the application list 300and the application role configuration list 400.

The application configuration baseline 800 is table-format data and itstores the information of applications which are to be active on serverssuch as the service execution servers 102 to be managed by the operationmanagement server 100. The application configuration baseline 800 isused when compared with the current application configuration. FIG. 9depicts an example of the application configuration baseline 800.

The application configuration baseline 800 stores information ofapplications in respective rows. The application configuration baseline800 has an application identifier column 801, a server address column802, an application name column 803, a communication source addresscolumn 804, and a communication destination address column 805. Theapplication identifier column 801 stores application identifiers asidentification information specifying applications. This identifierinformation allows correlations with information of applicationsspecified by the application identifier column 301 of the applicationlist 300. The server address column 802 stores addresses specifyingservers having active applications thereon, by which addressescorrelations are made with service servers specified by the serviceexecution server address column 201 of the service execution server list200. The application name column 803 stores names of applications. Thecommunication source address column 804 stores addresses of servers onwhich active applications are sending communications to applications.The communication destination address column 805 stores addresses ofservers on which active applications are receiving communications fromthe applications.

By way of the operation management terminal 101, the systemadministrator enters information indicated in the applicationconfiguration baseline 800 so that the system configuration managingunit 104 stores the entered information into the applicationconfiguration baseline 800 of the storage unit 111. The systemconfiguration managing unit 104 may store in the applicationconfiguration baseline 800 information of applications running on theservice systems which are collected using separate tools or utilitiesand received from the transmitter/receiver unit 103. The systemconfiguration managing unit 104 may read the contents of the applicationlist 300 and store the read contents into the application configurationbaseline 800.

The application configuration change list 900 is table-format data andit stores information on change of configurations of applications fromthe application configuration baseline 800. FIG. 10 depicts an exampleof the application configuration change list 900. The applicationconfiguration change list 900 stores configuration change information ofapplications in respective rows. The application configuration changelist 900 has an application identifier column 901 and acontents-of-change column 902.

The application identifier column 901 stores therein applicationidentifiers as identification information specifying applications. Bythis identifier information, correlations are made with information ofapplications specified by the application identifier column 301 of theapplication list 300 and by the application identifier column 801 of theapplication configuration baseline 800. The contents-of-change column902 stores the contents of change in configuration of applications. Asused herein, the content of change in configuration of applicationsrefers to information of changes applied to applications making upservice systems, and includes events such as startup of an application,stop of an application, finding of a new communication destination,finding of a new communication source, interruption of communicationwith communication source, and interruption of communication withcommunication destination.

The configuration change managing unit 109 stores change information ofapplications into the application configuration change list 900, basedon the contents of the application list 300 and the applicationconfiguration baseline 800. The transmitter/receiver unit 103 mayreceive, e.g., changes of contents of setting files of applicationsdescribed in the application list 300 or the application configurationbaseline 800, which are detected using separate tools or utilities. Theconfiguration change managing unit 109 may then store the receivedcontents into the application configuration change list 900.

The setting change apply list 1000 is table-format data and it storesinformation of changes for setting information of applications runningon servers such as the service execution servers 102. FIG. 11 depicts anexample of the setting change apply list 1000. The setting change applylist 1000 stores information that changes setting information ofapplications in respective rows. The setting change apply list 1000 hasan application identifier column 1001 and a contents-of-setting column1002.

The application identifier column 1001 stores application identifiers asidentification information specifying applications. This identifierinformation allows correlations with information of applicationsspecified by the application identifier column 301 of the applicationlist 300. The contents-of-setting column 1002 stores the contents ofchange of the setting information of applications.

As used herein, the content of change of the setting information ofapplications refers to the content of change applied to the settinginformation of applications running on servers such as service executionservers 102, and includes change of parameters described in a specificsetting file or memory, deletion of parameters described in the specificsetting file or memory, addition of parameters to a setting file ormemory, and the like.

Through the operation management terminal 101, the system administratorenters information indicated in the setting change apply list 1000 sothat the setting change managing unit 110 stores the entered informationinto the setting change apply list 1000 of the storage unit 111. Throughthe operation management terminal 101, the system administer may alsoenter identification information specifying a specific single or aplurality of roles and the contents of setting of the roles, so thatfrom the entered role specifying identifier information the settingchange managing unit 110 may specify application identifiers belongingto the role while referring to the application role configuration list400, and store the specified application identifiers together with thecontents of setting of the role into the setting change apply list 1000of the storage unit 111. By entering information indicated in thesetting change apply list 1000 through separate utilities or tools, thesetting change managing unit 110 may store the entered information intothe setting change apply list 1000 of the storage unit 111.

The physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 is table-format data andit stores information on types of servers to be managed such as theservice execution servers 102 that the operation management server 100manages. FIG. 12 depicts an example of the physical/logical(virtual)server list 1200. The physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 storesinformation on types of servers in respective rows.

The physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 has a physical serveraddress column 1201 and a logical(virtual) server address column 1202.The physical server address column 1201 stores addresses of physicalservers to be managed. The physical server address column 1201 storesaddresses of physical servers on which logical(virtual) serversdescribed in the logical(virtual) server address column 1202 arerunning. By this address information, correlations are made withinformation of applications specified in the server address column 302of the application list 300.

The logical(virtual) server address column 1202 stores addresses oflogical(virtual) servers to be managed. The logical(virtual) serveraddress column 1202 stores addresses of logical(virtual) servers runningon the physical servers described in the physical server address column1201. By this address information, correlations are made with serveraddress information of the service execution server list 200 and theapplication list 300.

Through the operation management terminal 101, the system administratorenters information indicated in the physical/logical(virtual) serverlist 1200 so that the system configuration managing unit 104 stores theentered information into the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200.By entering information indicated in the physical/logical(virtual)server list 1200 through separate utilities or tools, the systemconfiguration managing unit 104 may store the entered information intothe physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 of the storage unit 111.

The shared application list 1300 is table-format data and it storesinformation on whether applications running on servers such as theservice execution servers 102 to be managed by the operation managementserver 100 are shared by a plurality of service systems and whetherphysical servers having the running virtual servers thereon are sharedin case of applications running on the virtual servers. FIG. 13 depictsan example of the shared application list 1300. The shared applicationlist 1300 stores, in respective rows, information on whether thoseapplications are shared by a plurality of service systems and whetherphysical servers having the running virtual servers thereon are sharedin case of applications running on the virtual servers.

The shared application list 1300 has a role identifier column 1301, anumber-of-shared-applications column 1302, and a type-of-sharing column1303. The role identifier column 1301 stores identification informationfor specifying roles of applications. This identification informationallows correlations with role information of applications specified inthe role identifier column 403 of the application role configurationlist 400, with role information of applications specified in the roleidentifier column 501 of the aggregated application list 500, and withinformation on service systems and applications specified in the roleidentifier column 703 of the service system list 700.

The number-of-shared-applications column 1302 stores the number ofapplications shared by a plurality of service systems or the number ofapplications running on virtual servers that work on the same physicalserver. The type-of-sharing column 1303 stores the type of sharing ofapplications, as well as the information specifying whether theapplications are ones shared by a plurality of service systems orwhether the applications are ones running on virtual servers that workon the same physical server.

The application aggregating unit 106 counts the number of applicationsbelonging also to other roles for each role, based on the contentsdescribed in the service system list 700, and stores the number togetherwith the type of sharing into the shared application list 1300 of thestorage unit 111. The application aggregating unit 106 counts the numberof applications running on virtual servers that work on the samephysical server for each role, based on the contents described in thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, the application list 300,and the service system list 700, and stores the number together with thetype of sharing into the shared application list 1300 of the storageunit 111. Through the operation management terminal 101, the systemadministrator may also enter the information indicated in the sharedapplication list 1300 so that the system configuration managing unit 104may store the entered information into the shared application list 1300of the storage unit 111. By entering information indicated in the sharedapplication list 1300 through separate utilities or tools, the systemconfiguration managing unit 104 may store the entered information intothe shared application list 1300 of the storage unit 111.

The operation management server 100 runs on a server machine 1101 havinga hardware configuration shown in FIG. 14. The server machine 1101includes a CPU 1102, a main storage 1103 (RAM, ROM, etc.), an externalstorage interface 1104, a communication interface 1105 (NIC, etc.), anexternal storage 1106 (disk device, etc.) storing programs, etc., aninput device 1107 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an output device1108 such as a display device and a printer.

The transmitter/receiver unit 103, the system configuration managingunit 104, the application role specifying unit 105, the applicationaggregating unit 106, the application configuration diagram creatingunit 107, the service system specifying unit 108, the configurationchange managing unit 109, and the setting change managing unit 110 arefunctional blocks implemented by the CPU 1102 executing programs storedin the external storage 1106 and read into the main storage 1103 via theexternal storage interface 1104. The transmitter/receiver unit 103 mayalso be implemented by the communication interface 1105 and acommunication control program controlling the communication interface1105. The storage unit 111 is implemented by the main storage 1103and/or the external storage 1106.

Hardware configurations of the operation management terminal 101 and ofthe service execution server 102 are similar to the configuration of theserver machine 1101 shown in FIG. 14 despite possible differences intheir scales and performances.

Though the operation management server 100, the operation managementterminal 101, and the service execution server 102 are represented asseparate servers in FIG. 1, those servers may each be composed of aplurality of servers or may be integrated into a single server. Theoperation management server 100 is not limited to a physical server.Namely, it may be a virtual server or may be a logical server defined bycluster configuration, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the operation management terminal 101 will bedescribed. The operation management terminal 101 is a server thatcontrols processes of data input to and data output from the operationmanagement server 100. Through the operation management terminal 101,the system administrator sends to the operation management server 100 arequest message to store the service execution server list 200, theapplication list 300, the application configuration baseline 800, andthe setting change apply list 1000. Through the operation managementterminal 101, the system administrator also sends a request message tocreate an application configuration diagram to the operation managementserver 100.

Further, through the operation management terminal 101, the systemadministrator sends to the operation management server 100 a requestmessage to specify a service system for an application described in theapplication list 300. Through the operation management terminal 101, thesystem administrator also sends to the operation management server 100 arequest message to compare an application described in the applicationlist 300 with another application described in the applicationconfiguration baseline 800 to specify the contents of change of theapplication configuration.

Further yet, through the operation management terminal 101, the systemadministrator sends to the operation management server 100 a requestmessage to change setting information on an application running on aserver such as the service execution server 102. Through the operationmanagement terminal 101, the system administrator also sends to theoperation management server 100 a request message to create anapplication configuration diagram from information on an aggregatedapplication described in the aggregated application list 500 and theaggregated application communication list 600.

The operation management terminal 101 has an input unit 112, an outputunit 113, a transmitter/receiver unit 114, and a communicationprocessing unit 115. The input unit 112 accepts input of information onthe various request messages entered by the system administrator,whereas the output unit 113 outputs the information to the systemadministrator.

The transmitter/receiver unit 114 is a processing unit that executes atransmission/reception process including transmission of informationreceived from the processing units such as the communication processingunit 115 of the operation management terminal 101 to the network 1109and transmission of information received from the network 1109 to theprocessing units.

The communication processing unit 115 executes a communication processwith the operation management server 100.

The operation management terminal 101 works on the server machine 1101having the hardware configuration of FIG. 14.

The communication processing unit 115 can be implemented by the CPU 1102executing a program on the external storage 1106 read into the mainstorage 1103.

The transmitter/receiver unit 114 can be implemented by thecommunication interface 1105.

The input unit 112 can be implemented by the input device 1107. Theinput device 1107 is for example a pointing device such as a mouseand/or a keyboard.

The output unit 113 can be implemented by the output device 1108. Theoutput device is for example a monitor and/or a printer.

The service execution server 102 is a server on which are workingservice systems to be managed by the operation management server 100.The service execution server 102 and the service system may notnecessarily have a one-to-one correspondence. That is, a single servicesystem may work on the service execution server 102, or alternativelythe service system may work for each of virtual servers running on theservice execution server 102. Instead, the service system may also bemade up of a plurality of service execution servers 102. The serviceexecution server 102 is not limited to a physical server. That is, itmay be a virtual server or may be a logical server defined by a clusterconfiguration etc.

The service execution server 102 includes a transmitter/receiver unit116 and a setting managing unit 117. The transmitter/receiver unit 116executes a process of communication between the setting managing unit117 and the operation management server 100 or the operation managementterminal 101. The setting managing unit 117 executes processes ofsetting or changing of setting information on the service executionserver 102.

The operation management terminal 101 works on the server machine 1101having the hardware configuration of FIG. 14.

The transmitter/receiver unit 116 and the setting managing unit 117 canbe implemented by the CPU 1102 executing programs on the externalstorage 1106 read into the main storage 1103.

The transmitter/receiver unit 116 may be implemented by thecommunication interface 1105.

Description will hereinafter be made of an application aggregateddisplay process implemented by this embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 15 is an exemplary flowchart of a general procedure effected by theinformation processing system 1 of this embodiment.

Process steps S1401, S1402, S1403, and S1405 included in the flow ofFIG. 15 will be detailed referring to FIGS. 16 to 19, respectively.

First, the application role specifying unit 105 specifies applicationsbelonging to a first layer and stores information of the applicationsinto the application role configuration list 400 (step 1401).

Specifically, the procedure of FIG. 16 is carried out. The applicationrole specifying unit 105 acquires all of application identifiersdescribed in the application list 300 to create an applicationidentifier list ApList1 of all the application identifiers acquired(step 1501).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether the list ApList1is not empty (step 1502). If negative, i.e., the list ApList1 is empty(No at step 1502), then the procedure comes to an end. If affirmative,i.e., the list ApList1 is not empty (Yes at step 1502), then theapplication role specifying unit 105 executes processes from step 1503onward.

The application role specifying unit 105 extracts an arbitraryapplication identifier App1 described in the list ApList1 and deletesthe application identifier App1 from the list ApList1 so as to acquire acommunication source address Add1 and a communication destinationaddress Add2 of an application corresponding to the applicationidentifier App1 from the application list 300 (step 1503).

The application role specifying unit 105 acquires an address listAdList1 of service servers described in the service execution serverlist 200 (step 1504).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether thecommunication source address Add1 is not contained in the serviceexecution server address list AdList1 (step 1505). If negative, i.e.,the address Add1 is contained in the list AdList1 (No at step 1505),then it judges that the application specified by the applicationidentifier App1 is not an application belonging to the first layer,returning to the process of step 1502. If affirmative, i.e., if theaddress Add1 is not contained in the list AdList1 (Yes at step 1505),then it judges that the application specified by the identifier App1 isan application candidate belonging to the first layer, and executesprocesses from step 1506 onward.

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether thecommunication destination address Add2 is contained in the serviceexecution server address list AdList1 (step 1506). If affirmative, i.e.,if the address Add2 is contained in the list AdList1 (Yes at step 1506),then it judges that the application specified by the applicationidentifier App1 is an application belonging to the first layer, andexecutes a process of step 1507. If negative, i.e., if the address Add2is not contained in the list AdList1 (No at step 1506), then it judgesthat the application specified by the application identifier App1 is notan application belonging to the first layer, and returns to the processof step 1502.

The application role specifying unit 105 defines the applicationspecified by the application identifier App1 to be an applicationbelonging to the first layer, stores in the application roleconfiguration list 400 the identifier (App1) of that application andinformation (layer #1) identifying a layer to which that applicationbelongs (step 1507), and returns to the process of step 1502.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, by way of example, application#1 andapplication#2 of all applications described in FIG. 4 are applicationshaving communication addresses 304 different from addresses of theservice execution server 102 described in FIG. 3 (192.168.2.1 to192.168.2.6). The communication destination addresses 305 of theapplication#1 and application#2 are indicating the addresses of theservice execution servers 102 described in FIG. 3. Hence, theapplication role specifying unit 105 judges that the application#1 andapplication#2 are the applications of the first layer which are thefirst applications to accept data from the exterior of the serviceexecution server 102, and stores the application identifiers(application#1 and application#2) and the layer identifier (layer #1)into the application role configuration list 400, as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring back to FIG. 15, the application role specifying unit 105,then, specifies applications belonging to a second or subsequent layerand stores information on those applications into the application roleconfiguration list 400 (step 1402).

Specifically, the procedure of FIG. 17 is carried out. The applicationrole specifying unit 105 acquires all of application identifiersdescribed in the application list 300 to create an applicationidentifier list ApList2 of all the application identifiers acquired(step 1601).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether the list ApList2is not empty (step 1602). If negative, i.e., the list ApList2 is empty(No at step 1602), then the procedure comes to an end. If affirmative,i.e., the list ApList2 is not empty (Yes at step 1602), then theapplication role specifying unit 105 executes processes from step 1603onward.

The application role specifying unit 105 extracts an arbitraryapplication identifier App2 described in the list ApList2 and deletesthe application identifier App2 from the list ApList2 to acquire acommunication source address Add3 of an application corresponding to theapplication identifier App2 from the application list 300 (step 1603).

The application role specifying unit 105 reads the application roleconfiguration list 400 and acquires all of application identifiers eachhaving a layer identifier (layer #i−1) indicative of a layerone-previous to a layer to be specified (layer i), to thereby create anaddress list AdList2 of servers on which applications with the layeridentifier run (step 1604).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether thecommunication source address Add3 is contained in the server addresslist AdList2 (step 1605). If affirmative, i.e., if the address Add3 iscontained in the list AdList2 (Yes at step 1605), then it judges thatthe application specified by the identifier App2 is an application ofthe i-th layer, and executes a process of step 1606. If negative, i.e.,the address Add3 is not contained in the list AdList2 (No at step 1605),then it judges that the application specified by the applicationidentifier App2 is not an application of the i-th layer, and returns tothe process of step 1601.

The application role specifying unit 105 defines applications specifiedby the application identifier App2 as applications of the i-th layer andstores the identifier (App2) of those applications and information(layer #i) identifying a layer to which those applications belong intothe application role configuration list 400 (step S1606), and returns tothe process of the step 1601.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, by way of example, the application role specifyingunit 105 first acquires application identifiers (application#1 andapplication#2) of applications having the layer identifiers of layer #1(=2−1) described in FIG. 5. The application role specifying unit 105then refers to the application list 300 of FIG. 4 to acquire addresses(192.168.2.1, 192.168.2.2) of servers on which applicationscorresponding to the application identifiers (application#1 andapplicationN2) run.

The application role specifying unit 105 then defines as applications ofrole 2 applications having addresses 192.168.2.1 and 192,168.2.2 in thecommunication source address column 304, of applications described inFIG. 4, and stores application identifiers (application#3,application#4, application#5) and a layer identifier (layer #2) into theapplication role configuration list 400, as shown in FIG. 5.

Returning to FIG. 15 for description, the application role specifyingunit 105 classifies applications into a plurality of roles to store roleinformation on those applications into the application roleconfiguration list 400 (step 1403).

Specifically, the procedure of FIG. 18 is carried out. The applicationrole specifying unit 105 defines a layer number j of a currentapplication as 1 (step 1701). The application role specifying unit 105acquires an application identifier list ApList3 of applications havinglayer #j as the layer identifier described in the application roleconfiguration list 400. The application role specifying unit 105 furtherdefines the current role number k as 1 (step 1702).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList3 is empty (step 1703). If affirmative, i.e., ifApList3 is empty (Yes at step 1703), then the procedure comes to an end.If negative, i.e., ApList3 is not empty (No at step 1703), then itexecutes processes from step 1704 onward. The application rolespecifying unit 105 extracts an arbitrary application identifier App3from the application list ApList3 and deletes the identifier App3 fromthe list ApList3 so as to acquire an application name ApName3corresponding to the identifier App3 from the application list 300 (step1704).

The application role specifying unit 105 acquires applicationidentifiers of applications having the same application names as ApName3among those described in the application list 300 to create anapplication server list ApList4 (inclusive of App3) of the applicationidentifiers acquired, and deletes the application identifiers describedin the application identifier list ApList4 from the applicationidentifiers described in the application identifier list ApList3 (step1705).

The application role specifying unit 105 stores the applicationidentifiers and role identifiers (role #k) described in the applicationidentifier list ApList4 into the application role configuration list 400to thereafter increment k (step 1706).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList3 is empty (step 1707). If negative, i.e., ifApList3 is not empty (No at step 1707), then the procedure goes back tothe process of step 1704. If affirmative, i.e., if ApList3 is empty,then a process of step 1708 is carried out. The application rolespecifying unit 105 increments the current layer number j (step 1708),and returns to the process of step 1702.

By way of example, description will be made of a procedure forclassifying applications of a second layer into a plurality of roles. InFIGS. 4 and 5, the application role specifying unit 105 first acquiresapplication identifiers 401 (application#3, application#4,application#5) having the layer identifier 402 of layer #2, ofapplications described in FIG. 5.

The application role specifying unit 105 then refers to the applicationlist 300 of FIG. 4 to acquire application names 303 (Application B,Application C, and Application C) corresponding respectively to theapplication identifiers 401 (application#3, application#4, andapplication#5).

The application role specifying unit 105 then judges the applicationshaving the same application name 303 of those applications to be of thesame role. As shown in FIG. 5, the application role specifying unit 105classifies the application #3 as one having a different role (the roleidentifier 403 of role 2) from the role of the application #4 andapplication #5, and classifies the application #4 and application #5 asones having the same role as each other but having a different role (therole identifier 403 of role 3) from the role of the application #2.Afterward, the application role specifying unit 105 stores the specifiedrole identifiers 403 into the application role configuration list 400.

Description will return to the procedure of FIG. 15. The applicationaggregating unit 106 refers to the application role configuration list400 to count the numbers of applications belonging to each of the rolesand stores the numbers together with the application names 303 into theaggregated application list 500 (step 1404).

In case of applications of “role #1” of FIG. 5 by way of example, theapplication aggregating unit 106 acquires the application identifiers401 (application #1 and application #2) and the number (2) of theapplications having the role identifier 403 of “role #1” among thosedescribed in FIG. 5. The application aggregating unit 106 acquires theapplication name 303 (Application A) of applications having theapplication identifiers 301 of “application #1” or “application #2”described in FIG. 4. The application aggregating unit 106 then storesthe number of applications and the application name 303 thus acquiredinto the aggregated application list 500, as shown in FIG. 6.

The application aggregating unit 106 then specifies the communicationsource and communication destination of the applications by the role(step 1405).

Specifically, the procedure of FIG. 19 is carried out. The applicationaggregating unit 106 defines the current role number m as 1 (step 1801).The application aggregating unit 106 acquires the applicationidentifiers 401 of applications having the role identifiers 403 of role#m described in the application role configuration list 400, to createan application identifier list ApList5 of the application identifiers(step 1802).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList5 is empty (step 1803). If affirmative, i.e., ifAplist5 is empty (Yes at step 1803), then the procedure comes to an end.If negative, i.e., if Aplist5 is not empty (No at step 1803), then theapplication aggregating unit 106 executes processes from step 1804onward.

The application aggregating unit 106 then executes processes from step1901 to 1905 described in FIG. 20 to specify communications betweenaggregated applications (step 1804). Specifically, the applicationaggregating unit 106 first extracts an arbitrary application identifierApp5 from the application identifier list ApList5 and deletes theapplication identifier App5 from the list Aplist5, to acquire acommunication destination address Add5 corresponding to the applicationidentifier App5 from the application list 300 (step 1901).

The application aggregating unit 106 acquires from the application list300 application identifiers App6 of applications running on a serverhaving an address indicated by Add5 (step 1902).

The application aggregating unit 106 acquires role identifiers (role #n)of applications corresponding to the application identifiers App6 fromthe application role configuration list 400 (step 1903).

The application aggregating unit 106 refers to the aggregatedapplication communication list 600 to judge whether no communicationexists whose communication source role identifier 601 is role #m andwhose communication destination role identifier 602 is role #n (step1904). If negative, i.e., if the communication exists (No at step 1904),then the application aggregating unit 106 executes the processes fromstep 1805 onward without execution of a process of step 1905. Ifaffirmative, i.e., if no communication exists (Yes at step 1904), thenit executes the process of step 1905 to thereafter execute the processesfrom step 1805 onward.

When the communication does not exist, the application aggregating unit106 stores role #m and role #n into the communication source roleidentifier column and the communication destination role identifiercolumn, respectively, of the aggregated application communication list600 (step 1905), and returns the procedure to step 1805 of FIG. 19.

The application aggregating unit 106 then judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList5 is empty (step 1805). If negative, i.e., if notempty (No at step 1805), then the procedure returns to the process ofstep 1804, whereas if affirmative, i.e., if empty (Yes at step 1805),then the application aggregating unit 106 executes a process of step1806. The application aggregating unit 106 increments the current rolenumber m (step 1806), and returns to the process of step 1802.

Description will be given of a process of specifying a role ofcommunicating with role #1 by way of example. The applicationaggregating unit 106 acquires the application identifiers 401(application #1 and application #2) of applications having the roleidentifiers 403 of “role #1” stored in the application roleconfiguration list 400 of FIG. 5.

The application aggregating unit 106 then refers to the application list300 of FIG. 4 to acquire the communication destination addresses 305(192.168.2.3, 192.168.2.4, and 192.168.2.5 for both) of applicationsspecified by the application identifiers 301 of application #1 andapplication #2.

The application aggregating unit 106 refers to the application list 300of FIG. 4 to acquire the application identifiers 301 (application #3,application #4, and application #5) of applications running on servershaving the addresses acquired.

The application aggregating unit 106 then refers to the application roleconfiguration list 400 of FIG. 5 to acquire the role identifiers 403(role #2, role #3, and role #3) corresponding to the applicationidentifiers 401 acquired. The application aggregating unit 106 thenstores role #1 and role #2 into the communication source role identifiercolumn and the communication destination role identifier column,respectively, of the aggregated application communication list 600, asshown in FIG. 7. The application aggregating unit 106 further storesrole #1 and role #3 into the communication source role identifier columnand the communication destination role identifier column, respectively,of the aggregated application communication list 600.

The application configuration diagram creating unit 107 reads theaggregated application list 500 and the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600 to create an application configuration diagram(step 1406).

To summarize, the first embodiment makes use of: the service executionserver list 200 storing addresses of servers such as the serviceexecution servers 102 to be managed by the operation management server100; the application list 300 storing information of applicationsrunning on servers to be managed; the application role configurationlist 400 storing information roles in a service system of applicationsstored in the application list 300; the aggregated application list 500storing information on roles of applications classified by theapplication aggregating unit; and the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600 storing information on role-to-rolecommunications. The first embodiment through use of the above listsincludes the following steps of: specifying application roles in theservice system from the service execution server list 200 and theapplication list 300 for storage in the application role configurationlist 400; aggregating applications by roles from the application list300 and the application role configuration list 400 for storage of theaggregation result into the aggregated application list 500 and theaggregated application communication list 600; and creating anapplication configuration diagram from the aggregated application list500 and the aggregated application communication list 600.

According to the first embodiment, without any know-how, applicationconfiguration diagrams can be created that allow the systemadministrator to grasp the current configuration at a single glance, byproviding aggregated displays of applications for each of roles in aservice system.

It is to be noted that the first embodiment may or may not use: theservice system specifying unit 108, the configuration change managingunit 109, the setting change managing unit 110, the service system list700, the application configuration baseline 800, the applicationconfiguration change list 900, the setting change apply list 1000, thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and the shared applicationlist 1300.

The operation management server 100 of the first embodiment may or maynot be provided with: the service system specifying unit 108, theconfiguration change managing unit 109, the setting change managing unit110, the service system list 700, the application configuration baseline800, the application configuration change list 900, the setting changeapply list 1000, the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and theshared application list 1300.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, even when a plurality of service systemsmixedly coexist, they are aggregated according to roles, but theaggregation and display may also be performed according to servicesystems as shown in FIG. 21. To this end, HTTP communications areattempted to addresses of servers on which applications of the firstlayer run, and titles of displayed pages are acquired to add a processof specifying, by the titles, service systems to which the applicationsbelong.

A second embodiment of the present invention provides a method ofautomatically specifying service systems to which applications runningon the servers belong and aggregating applications according to servicesystems to create an application configuration diagram when the serverssuch as the service execution servers 102 to be managed consist of aplurality of the service systems. The second embodiment further providesa method of aggregating individually applications shared by a pluralityof service systems or applications running on virtual servers working onthe same physical server as shown in FIG. 22 when the applications areaggregated and displayed according to service systems, so that thoseevents can be grasped, to create an application configuration diagram.

In the second embodiment, the following procedure is executed ofspecifying service systems on which applications run, in addition to thesteps 1401 to 1406 described in the first embodiment. HTTPcommunications are performed with applications of the first layerspecified by the application role specifying unit 105 to specify servicesystems on which those applications run by titles of files specified bytitle tags of Web pages acquired, to thereby regard a series ofapplications of the second or subsequent layer in communication withthose applications as belonging to the same service systems, thusspecifying relevant service systems for all the applications.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of a procedure for specifying service systems ofapplications in the second embodiment.

The application role specifying unit 105 executes the processes of steps1401 and 1402 described in FIG. 15 to specify layers to which theapplications belong (step 2001).

The service system specifying unit 108 first specifies service systemsto which applications of the first layer belong (step 2002).

Specifically, the procedure of FIG. 24 is carried out. The servicesystem specifying unit 108 refers to the application role configurationlist 400 to acquire application identifiers 401 of applications eachhaving the layer identifier 402 of layer #1 to create a list ApList10 ofthe application identifiers 401 (step 2101).

The service system specifying unit 108 judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList10 is empty (step 2102) and, if ApList10 is empty(Yes at step 2102), executes processes from step 2003 onward, whereas ifnot empty (No at step 2102), it executes processes from step 2103onward.

The service system specifying unit 108 extracts an arbitrary applicationidentifier App10 from the application identifier list ApList10 anddeletes the application identifier App10 from the list ApList10, toacquire an address Add10 of a server on which an application specifiedby App10 runs from the application list 300 (step 2103).

The service system specifying unit 108 adds “httpd://” anterior to Add10and adds “/” posterior to Add10 to send an HTTP connection request byway of the transmitter/receiver unit 103 (step 2104).

The service system specifying unit 108 makes judgment of whether thecommunication has succeeded (step 2105) and, if affirmative (Yes at step2105), executes processes from step 2106 onward, whereas if negative (Noat step 2105), then it performs a process of step 2109.

The service system specifying unit 108 applies DOM analysis to a sourcecode of a Web page acquired and displayed from the address via thecommunication (step S2106).

Based on the result of the DOM analysis applied to the source code ofthe Web page displayed, the service system specifying unit 108 judgeswhether a Title node exists (step 2107) and, if affirmative (Yes at step2107), executes a process of step 2108, whereas if negative, then itexecutes the process of step 2109.

If the Title node is present, the service system specifying unit 108stores App10 and the contents of the Title node into the applicationidentifier column 701 and the service system name column 702,respectively, of the service system list 700 (step 2108).

If the Title node is absent, the service system specifying unit 108stores App10 and information indicative of service system beingunspecified into the application identifier column 701 and the servicesystem name column 702, respectively, of the service system list 700(step 2109).

The service system specifying unit 108 specifies service systems onwhich applications of the second or subsequent layer run, based oncommunication destination addresses of applications of the first layer(step 2003).

Specifically, the service system specifying unit 108 acquiresapplication identifiers 401 of applications having the layer identifier402 of layer #1 described in the application role configuration list400, to create a list ApList100 of application identifiers 401.

The service system specifying unit 108 acquires an arbitrary applicationidentifier App100 from the application identifier list ApList100. Theservice system specifying unit 108 reads the application list 300 toacquire all of communication destination addresses Add100 ofapplications indicated by the application identifier App100.

The service system specifying unit 108 reads the application list 300 toacquire applications App101 running on servers indicated by thecommunication destination address Add100 so as to store App101 and namesof service systems on which applications specified by the applicationidentifier App100 run into the application identifier column 701 and theservice system name column 702, respectively, of the service system list700. The above processes are repeated to specify service systems onwhich applications of the third or subsequent layer run.

The application aggregating unit 106 acquires application identifiers701 described in the service system list 700 to create a list ApList10of the application identifiers 701 (step 2004).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList10 is empty (step 2005) and, if affirmative (Yesat step 2005), terminates the procedure, whereas if negative (No at step2005), it executes processes from step 2006 onward.

The application aggregating unit 106 extracts an arbitrary applicationidentifier App10 stored in the application identifier list ApList10 anddeletes the application identifier App10 from the list ApList10 (step2006).

The application aggregating unit 106 acquires from the service systemlist 700 an application identifier list ApList11 (including App10)indicative of the same service system name (GSName10) as one of theapplication identifier App10 and deletes the application identifier listApList11 from the list ApList10 (step 2007).

The application aggregating unit 106 applies the processes from thesteps 1403 to 1406 described in FIG. 15 to applications havingidentifiers described in ApList11, to create an applicationconfiguration diagram of the service system (GSName10).

The current role number k at step 1702 is defined as a consecutivenumber (unique) following the last number in the preceding servicesystem, and identifiers of roles classified at step 1403 are stored inthe service system list 700 as well (step 2008), returning the procedureto the process of step 2005.

Description will next be given of a procedure for specifyingapplications shared by a plurality of service systems. FIG. 25 is aflowchart of a procedure for specifying applications shared by theplurality of service systems in the second embodiment. The flow isexecuted in addition to the flow specifying the service systems shown inFIG. 23.

The application aggregating unit 106 acquires the list ApList11 ofapplication identifiers described in the service system list 700 (step2201).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the applicationidentifier list ApList11 is empty (step 2202) and, if affirmative (Yesat step 2202), brings the procedure to an end, whereas if negative (Noat step 2202), it executes processes from step 2203 onward.

If the application identifier list ApList11 is not empty, then theapplication aggregating unit 106 extracts an arbitrary applicationidentifier App11 from the list ApList11 and deletes the applicationidentifier App11 from the list ApList11, to acquire a role identifierlist RoleList11 corresponding to the application identifier App11 fromthe service system list 700 (step 2203).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the role identifierlist RoleList11 is not empty (step 2204) and, if negative (No at step2204), returns to the process of step 2202, whereas if affirmative (Yesat step 2204), it executes processes from step 2205 onward.

If the role identifier list RoleList11 is not empty, the applicationaggregating unit 106 extracts an arbitrary role identifier Role11 withinthe list RoleList11 and deletes the role identifier Role11 from the roleidentifier list RoleList11 (step 2205).

The application aggregating unit 106 refers to the shared applicationlist 1300 to acquire a shared application identifier ShareApp11corresponding to applications having the role identifier 1301 of role11and the type-of-sharing 1303 indicative of sharing a plurality ofservice systems (step 2206).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the sharedapplication identifier SharedApp11 exists (step 2207) and, ifaffirmative (Yes at step 2207), executes a process of step 2208, whereasif negative (No at step 2207), it executes a process of step 2209.

If the shared application identifier ShareApp11 is present, then theapplication aggregating unit 106 increments thenumber-of-shared-applications of applications having the sharedapplication identifier of ShareApp11 within the shared application list1300 (step 2208).

The application aggregating unit 106 stores Role11 into the roleidentifier column 1301 of the shared application list 1300, stores 1into the number-of-shared-applications column 1302, and stores thecontents indicative of sharing a plurality of service systems into thetype-of-sharing column 1303 (step 2209).

Description will next be given of a procedure for specifyingapplications running on virtual servers that work on the same physicalserver. FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a procedure for specifyingapplications running on virtual servers that work on the same physicalserver in the second embodiment. The flow is executed in addition to theflow specifying the service systems shown in FIG. 23.

The application aggregating unit 106 refers to thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 to acquire a listSrvAddList12 of logical/virtual server addresses indicative of the samephysical server address 1201 (step 2301).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the listSrvAddList12 is empty (step 2302) and, if affirmative (Yes at step2302), brings the procedure to an end, whereas if negative (No at step2302), it executes processes from step 2303 onward.

If the physical/logical server address list SrvAddList12 is not empty,then the application aggregating unit 106 extracts an arbitrary addressAdd12 from the list SrvAddList12 (and deletes the address Add12 from thelist SrvAddList12), to acquire from the application list 300 anapplication identifier list AppList12 of applications running on aserver indicated by the address Add12 (step 2303).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the applicationidentifier list AppList12 is empty (step 2304) and, if affirmative (Yesat step 2304), returns to the process of step 2302, whereas if negative(No at step 2304), it executes processes from step 2305 onward.

If the application identifier list AppList12 is not empty, then theapplication aggregating unit 106 extracts an arbitrary applicationidentifier App12 from the list AppList12, deletes the applicationidentifier App12 from the list AppList12, and refers to the applicationrole configuration list 400 to acquire a role Role12 corresponding tothe application identifier App12 (step 2305).

The application aggregating unit 106 refers to the shared applicationlist 1300 to acquire a shared application identifier ShareApp12corresponding to applications having the role identifier 1301 of Role12and the type-of-sharing 1303 of sharing virtual servers (step 2306).

The application aggregating unit 106 judges whether the sharedapplication identifier ShareApp12 exist (step 2307) and, if affirmative(Yes at step 2307), executes a process of step 2308, whereas if negative(No at step 2307), it executes a process of step 2309.

If the shared application identifier ShareApp12 is present, theapplication aggregating unit 106 increments thenumber-of-shared-applications of applications having the sharedapplication identifier of ShareApp12 within the shared application list1300 (step 2308).

If the shared application identifier ShareApp12 is absent, theapplication aggregating unit 106 stores Role12 into the role identifiercolumn 1301 of the shared application list 1300, stores 1 into thenumber-of-shared-applications column 1302, and the contents of sharingvirtual servers into the type-of-sharing column 1303 (step 2309).

To summarize, the second embodiment makes use of: the service executionserver list 200 storing therein addresses of servers such as the serviceexecution servers 102 to be managed by the operation management server100; the application list 300 storing information of applicationsrunning on servers to be managed; the application role configurationlist 400 storing information roles in a service system of applicationsstored in the application list 300; the aggregated application list 500storing therein information on roles of applications classified by theapplication aggregating unit; the aggregated application communicationlist 600 storing information on role-to-role communications; the servicesystem list 700 storing therein service systems to which applicationsbelong; the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 storing types ofservers on which the applications run; and the shared application list1300 storing the contents that an application is shared by a pluralityof service systems or that a physical server having active applicationsthereon is shared by other service systems. The second embodimentthrough use of the above lists includes the following steps of:specifying application roles in the service systems from the serviceexecution server list 200 and the application list 300 for storage inthe application role configuration list 400; acquiring addresses ofservers on which applications of role 1 run from the application roleconfiguration list 400 and the application list 300; attempting HTTPcommunications with the acquired addresses to specify pages displayedupon the execution of HTTP communications as service systems to whichthe applications belong; aggregating the applications on a role-by-rolebasis from the application list 300 and the application roleconfiguration list 400 in a prejudged service system for storage of theaggregation results into the aggregated application list 500 and theaggregated application communication list 600; storing from the servicesystem list 700 the number of applications shared by a plurality ofservice systems into the shared application list 1300; referring to theapplication list 300, the service system list 700, and thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200 to store into the sharedapplication list 1300 the number of applications running on virtualservers working on the same physical server; and creating an applicationconfiguration diagram from the aggregated application list 500, theaggregated application communication list 600, and the sharedapplication list 1300.

According to the second embodiment, even when a plurality of servicesystems mixedly coexist as objects to be managed by the operationmanagement server 100, application configuration diagrams can be createdthat allow the system administrator to grasp the current configurationat a single glance, by automatically specifying service systems to whichapplications belong and providing aggregated displays of theapplications for each of the service systems.

Further, even when one application is shared by a plurality of servicesystems or even when there exist applications of different servicesystems working on the same physical server, application configurationdiagrams can be created that allow the system administrator to grasp thecurrent configuration at a single glance, by aggregating theapplications by shared applications.

The second embodiment may or may not use the configuration changemanaging unit 109, the setting change managing unit 110, the applicationconfiguration baseline 800, the application configuration change list900, and the setting change apply list 1000. The operation managementserver 100 may or may not be provided with the configuration changemanaging unit 109, the setting change managing unit 100, the applicationconfiguration baseline 800, the application configuration change list900, and the setting change apply list 1000.

Third Embodiment

In the first embodiment, even when a plurality of service systemsmixedly coexist, the plurality of service systems are brought togetherso that applications are aggregated according to roles of theapplications. As shown in FIG. 27, aggregation may also be made based ongiven additional information (e.g., setting information on eachapplication, change information or fault information on eachapplication) so that displays can be provided so as to allow the systemadministrator to intuitively grasp applications needing any measures ormodifications such as a singular application having different settingsfrom others (which may probably be attributable to setting error) orapplications having changes or faults. To this end, an additionalprocess is provided to classify applications based on the settinginformation, change information, fault information, etc.

A third embodiment of the present invention provides a method of, whenadditional information is given to applications running on objects to bemanaged such as the service execution server 102, aggregating theapplications depending on the additional information to create anapplication configuration diagram. As used herein, additionalinformation means various pieces of information of applications to beaggregated, such as configuration change information of applications,host type information of hosts (such as a virtual server, a physicalserver, or a logical server) on which the applications run, and settinginformation difference information of applications.

By way of example of the third embodiment, description will be made of amethod of, when the application configuration baseline 800 indicating aproper application configuration is given as shown in FIG. 27, comparingthe current application configuration with the baseline 800 to specifychanges in the configuration and aggregating applications by thecontents of the changes in the configuration so as to allow the systemadministrator to grasp information on changes of applications to bemanaged at a single glance.

Following the steps 1401 to 1407 described in the first embodiment, toimplement the method, additional processes are provided of: storing intothe application configuration change list 900 the result of comparisonof the configuration baseline 800 of a given application with thecurrent configuration of each of applications; specifying a group of theapplication based on the contents stored in the applicationconfiguration change list 900; and storing identification informationspecifying the role of the application into the application roleconfiguration list 400.

FIG. 28 depicts a flow of a procedure for: storing into the applicationconfiguration change list 900 the result of comparison of theconfiguration baseline 800 of a given application with the currentconfiguration of each of applications; specifying a group of theapplication based on the contents stored in the applicationconfiguration change list 900; and storing identification informationspecifying the role of the application into the application roleconfiguration list 400.

The configuration change managing unit 109 reads lists of applicationidentifiers 801 and communication source/communication destinationaddresses 804 and 805 of the application configuration baseline 800 intoListA generated by the configuration change managing unit 109 and readslists of the application identifiers 301 and communicationsource/communication destination addresses 304 and 305 of the currentapplication list 300 into ListB generated by the configuration changemanaging unit 109 (step 2401). ListA and ListB may be stored in anappropriate memory area of the storage unit 111 for example.

As used herein, the application baseline refers to table-format datadescribing therein an originally proper application configuration. Inthe third embodiment, for simplicity of the comparison process, thecontents of the baseline are the same as those of the application list300, but the former may be different from the latter as long as changesin the application configuration can be specified.

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether ListB is notempty (step 2402). If ListB is not empty (Yes at step 2402), then theconfiguration change managing unit 109 executes a process of step 2403,whereas if ListB is empty (No at step 2402), then it executes processesfrom step 2404 onward.

The configuration change managing unit 109 then executes process A andprocess B described in FIG. 29 (step 2403).

Referring to FIG. 29, specifically, the configuration change managingunit 109 first extracts an arbitrary application identifier App13 fromListB and deletes App13 from ListB (step 2501).

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether App13 is notpresent in ListA (step 2502). If App13 is not present in ListA (Yes atstep 2502), then it executes processes from step 2503 onward, whereas ifApp13 is present in ListA (No at step 2502), then it executes processesfrom step 2506 onward.

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether information ofListA has been acquired from the application configuration baseline 800(step 2503). If the information of ListA has been acquired from theapplication configuration baseline 800 (Yes at step 2503), then itexecutes a process of step 2504, whereas if the information of ListA hasnot been acquired from the application baseline 800 (No at step 2503),then it executes a process of step 2505.

If the information of ListA has been acquired, then the configurationchange managing unit 109 saves App13 in the application identifiercolumn 901 of the application configuration change list 900, saves thecontents indicating startup of the application in the contents-of-changecolumn 902 (step 2504), and returns to the process of step 2402.

If the information of ListA has not been acquired, then theconfiguration change managing unit 109 saves App13 in the applicationidentifier column 901 of the application configuration change list 900,saves information indicating stop of the application in thecontents-of-change column 902 (step 2505), and returns to the process ofstep 2402.

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether the process Bis also to be executed and, since the process B is also to be executedin this process step, executes processes from step 2507 onward (step2506).

The configuration change managing unit 109 acquires a communicationsource address Addr13 and a communication destination address Addr14 ofApp13 from ListA, acquires a communication source address Addr15 and acommunication destination address Addr16 of App13 from ListB (step2507), and returns to the process of step 2402.

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether Addr13 differsfrom Addr15 (step 2508). If different (Yes at step 2508), then itexecutes processes from step 2509 onward, whereas if not different (Noat step 2508), then it executes processes from step 2510 onward.

If Addr13 and Addr15 differ, the configuration change managing unit 109saves App13 in the application identifier column 901 of the applicationconfiguration change list 900, saves information indicative of change ofthe communication source in the contents-of-change column 902 (step2509), and proceeds to step 2510.

If Addr13 and Addr15 do not differ, then the configuration changemanaging unit 109 judges whether Addr14 and Addr16 differ (step 2510).If different (Yes at step 2510), then it executes a process of step2511, whereas if not different (No at step 2510), then it returns to theprocess of step 2402.

The configuration change managing unit 109 saves App13 in theapplication identifier column 901 of the application configurationchange list 900, saves information indicative of change of thecommunication destination in the contents-of-change column 902 (step2511), and returns to the process of step 2402.

The configuration change managing unit 109 reads lists of theapplication identifiers 301 and communication source/communicationdestination addresses 304 and 305 of the current application list 300into ListA, and reads lists of application identifiers 801 andcommunication source/communication destination addresses 804 and 805 ofthe application configuration baseline 800 into ListB (step 2404).

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether ListB is notempty (step 2405). If ListB is not empty (Yes at step 2405), then itexecutes a process of step 2406, whereas if ListB is empty (No at step2405), then it terminates the procedure.

The configuration change managing unit 109 then executes only theprocess A described in FIG. 29 (step 2406).

Specifically, the procedure of FIG. 29 is carried out. The configurationchange managing unit 109 extracts an arbitrary application identifierApp13 from ListB and deletes App13 from ListB (step 2501).

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether App13 is notpresent in ListA (step 2502). If App13 is not present in ListA (Yes atstep 2502), then it executes the processes from step 2503 onward,whereas if App13 is present in ListA (No at step 2502), then it executesthe processes from step 2506 onward.

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether information ofListA has been acquired from the application configuration baseline 800(step 2503). If the information of ListA has been acquired from theapplication configuration baseline 800 (Yes at step 2503), then itexecutes the process of step 2504, whereas if the information of ListAhas not been acquired from the application baseline 800 (No at step2503), then it executes the process of step 2505.

If the information of ListA has been acquired from the applicationconfiguration baseline 800, then the configuration change managing unit109 saves App13 in the application identifier column 901 of theapplication configuration change list 900, saves the contents indicatingstartup of the application in the contents-of-change column 902 (step2504), and returns to the process of step 2405.

If the information of ListA has not been acquired from the applicationconfiguration baseline 800, then the configuration change managing unit109 saves App13 in the application identifier column 901 of theapplication configuration change list 900, saves information indicatingstop of the application in the contents-of-change column 902 (step2505), and returns to the process of step 2402.

The configuration change managing unit 109 judges whether the process Bis also to be executed and, since the process B is not executed in thisprocess step, returns to the process of step 2402 (step 2506).

To summarize, the third embodiment makes use of: the service executionserver list 200 storing addresses of servers such as the serviceexecution servers 102 to be managed by the operation management server100; the application list 300 storing information of applicationsrunning on servers to be managed; the application role configurationlist 400 storing information roles in a service system of applicationsstored in the application list 300; the aggregated application list 500storing information on roles of applications classified by theapplication aggregating unit; and the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600 storing information on role-to-rolecommunications. The third embodiment through use of the above listsincludes the following steps of: specifying application roles in theservice system from the service execution server list 200 and theapplication list 300 for storage in the application role configurationlist 400; and aggregating applications by roles from the applicationlist 300 and the application role configuration list 400. The thirdembodiment further includes: comparing the application list 300 with theapplication configuration baseline 800 describing therein an originallyproper application configuration; storing change information derivedfrom the application configuration baseline 800 into the applicationconfiguration change list 900; aggregating applications in detaildepending on the contents of change from the application configurationchange list 900, to update the application role configuration list 400;storing the results of aggregation into the aggregated application list500 and the aggregated application communication list 600; and creatingan application configuration diagram from the aggregated applicationlist 500 and the aggregated application communication list 600.

According to the third embodiment, even when changes occur in theconfiguration of applications to be managed by the operation managementserver 100, application configuration diagrams can be created that allowthe system administrator to grasp the contents of changes in theconfiguration at a single glance, by providing aggregated displays ofthe applications according to the contents of changes.

It is to be noted that the third embodiment may or may not use theservice system specifying unit 108, the setting change managing unit110, the service system list 700, the setting change apply list 1000,the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and the sharedapplication list 1300.

The operation management server 100 of the third embodiment may or maynot be provided with the service system specifying unit 108, the settingchange managing unit 110, the service system list 700, the settingchange apply list 1000, the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200,and the shared application list 1300.

Fourth Embodiment

A fourth embodiment of the present invention provides a method ofrelieving the workload on the system administrator arising from changesin setting, by collectively changing the setting information ofapplications having the same roles or the same names that run on objectssuch as the service execution servers 102 to be managed by the operationmanagement server 100.

A specific procedure to implement the setting changes includes, inaddition to the application aggregating procedure from steps 1401 to1406 exemplarily depicted in FIG. 15, executing a process of changingsetting information of applications which follows. Based on the contentsof setting and identifier information specifying roles sent by thesystem administrator from the input unit 112 of the operation managementterminal 101 through the transmitter/receiver unit 114 to the settingchange managing unit 110 of the operation management server 100, settinginformation of applications belonging to the roles is changed.

FIG. 30 depicts a flow of a procedure for changing setting informationaccording to the fourth embodiment.

The setting change managing unit 110 accepts a change request includinga role identifier Role14 and setting contents Change14 from the systemadministrator (step 2601).

It is noted that the role identifier Role14 and setting contentsChange14 may be the singular form or the plural form. The settingcontents Change14 mean data describing therein a process of changing thesetting information of applications. The setting contents Change14designate processes such as “change setting item Y1 of setting file X1to Z1”, “delete setting item Y2 from setting file X2”, and “add newsetting item Y3 to setting file X3”.

The setting change managing unit 110 refers to the application roleconfiguration list 400 to acquire an identifier list AppList14 ofapplications having the role identifier of Role14, and stores theapplication identifiers of AppList14 and the setting contents Change14into the setting change apply list 1000 (step 2602).

The setting change managing unit 110 judges whether the setting changeapply list 1000 is not empty (step 2603). If empty (No at step 2603),then it brings the procedure to an end, whereas if not empty (Yes atstep 2603), then it executes processes from step 2604 onward.

The setting change managing unit 110 extracts an arbitrary applicationidentifier App17 and change contents Change15 described in the settingchange apply list 1000 and deletes App17 and Change15 from the settingchange apply list 1000 (step 2604).

The setting change managing unit 110 acquires an address Addr17 of aserver on which an application App17 runs from the application list 300(step 2605).

The setting change managing unit 110 sends Change15 to Addr17 (step2606). Specifically, the change contents Change15 are sent via thetransmitter/receiver unit 114 of the operation management terminal 101to the transmitter/receiver unit 116 of the service execution server 102having the address of Addr17.

The transmitter/receiver unit 116 of the service execution server 102receives Change15 to send the reception contents to the setting managingunit 117, which in turn executes a setting change process described inChange15 (step 2607).

To summarize, the fourth embodiment makes use of: the service executionserver list 200 storing therein addresses of servers such as the serviceexecution servers 102 to be managed by the operation management server100; the application list 300 storing information of applicationsrunning on servers to be managed; the application role configurationlist 400 storing information roles in a service system of applicationsstored in the application list 300; the aggregated application list 500storing information on roles of applications classified by theapplication aggregating unit; and the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600 storing information on role-to-rolecommunications. The fourth embodiment through use of the above listsincludes the following steps of: specifying application roles in theservice systems from the service execution server list 200 and theapplication list 300 for storage in the application role configurationlist 400; aggregating the applications on a role-by-role basis from theapplication list 300 and the application role configuration list 400 forstorage of the aggregation results into the aggregated application list500 and the aggregated application communication list 600; creating anapplication configuration diagram from the aggregated application list500 and the aggregated application communication list 600; andthereafter acquiring applications whose settings are to be changed andsetting contents from the setting change apply list 1000 to apply thechanges to the applications.

According to the fourth embodiment, setting information of theapplications can collectively be changed according to each of theaggregated roles.

It is to be noted that the fourth embodiment may or may not use theservice system specifying unit 108, the configuration change managingunit 109, the service system list 700, the application configurationbaseline 800, the application configuration change list 900, thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and the shared applicationlist 1300.

The operation management server 100 of the fourth embodiment may or maynot be provided with the service system specifying unit 108, theconfiguration change managing unit 109, the service system list 700, theapplication configuration baseline 800, the application configurationchange list 900, the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and theshared application list 1300.

Fifth Embodiment

Another method of providing aggregated display in groups each consistingof a plurality of service systems includes additional processes ofacquiring a list of files that applications use and specifying servicesystems to which the applications belong by the list of files. Forexample, files such as WAR/EAR/JAR files are acquired in accordance withthe JSR 77 model that is a standard model on management of the J2EEplatform. The files may be acquired by other approaches such as MBean(Managed Bean), SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and CIM(Common Information Mode).

A fifth embodiment of the present invention provides a method of, whenan object such as the service execution server 102 to be managedconsists of a plurality of service systems, automatically specifyingservice systems to which applications running on the server belong, andaggregating the applications on the basis of those service systems tocreate an application configuration diagram.

The fifth embodiment includes executing a process of specifying servicesystems on which applications run from information of the list of filesthat the applications use, in addition to the steps 1401 to 1406 (FIG.15) described in the first embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart of a procedure for specifying service systems onwhich applications run according to the fifth embodiment.

The service system specifying unit 108 acquires an applicationidentifier list ApList15 from the application role configuration list400 (step 2701).

The service system specifying unit 108 judges whether ApList15 is empty(step 2702) and, if ApList15 is empty (Yes at step 2702), terminates theprocedure, whereas if ApList15 is not empty (No at step 2702), itexecutes processes from step 2703 onward.

The service system specifying unit 108 extracts an arbitrary applicationidentifier App18 from ApList15 and deletes App18 from ApList15, toacquire an address18 of a server on which App18 runs from theapplication list 300 (step 2703).

The service system specifying unit 108 sends to Add18 a request toacquire a list FileList18 of WAR/EAR/JAR files stored in the server ofAdd18 (step 2704).

The service system specifying unit 108 judges whether the acquisition ofthe file list has succeeded (step 2705) and performs processes from step2706 onward only when the acquisition of the file list has succeeded(Yes at step 2705).

The service system specifying unit 108 stores App18 and FileList18 intothe service system list (step 2706).

The service system specifying unit 108 judges whether within the servicesystem list there exists an application identifier App19 coincident withthe contents of WAR/EAR/JAR file list (step 2707). If App19 is present(Yes at step 2707), then it executes a process of step 2708, whereas ifApp19 is not present (No at step 2707), then it executes a process ofstep 2709.

If App19 is present, then the service system specifying unit 108 storesthe same role identifier as that of App19 into the role identifier 403corresponding to the application identifier 401 of App18 within theservice system list 700 (step 2708), returning to the process of step2702.

If App19 is not present, then the service system specifying unit 108adds and stores a new role identifier into the role identifier 403corresponding to the application identifier 401 of App18 within theservice system list 700 (step 2709), returning to the process of step2702.

To summarize, the fifth embodiment makes use of: the service executionserver list 200 storing therein addresses of servers such as the serviceexecution servers 102 to be managed by the operation management server100; the application list 300 storing therein information ofapplications running on servers to be managed; the application roleconfiguration list 400 storing therein information roles in a servicesystem of applications stored in the application list 300; theaggregated application list 500 storing therein information on roles ofapplications classified by the application aggregating unit; theaggregated application communication list 600 storing thereininformation on role-to-role communications; and the service system list700 storing therein service systems to which applications belong. Thefifth embodiment through use of the above lists includes the followingsteps of: specifying application roles in the service systems from theservice execution server list 200 and the application list 300 forstorage in the application role configuration list 400; acquiringaddresses of servers on which applications described in the applicationlist 300 run; attempting communications with the acquired addresses toacquire a list of files that the applications use; specifyingapplications coincident with the contents of the file list as belongingto the same service system; aggregating the applications on arole-by-role basis from the application list 300 and the applicationrole configuration list 400 in a prejudged service system for storage ofthe aggregation results into the aggregated application list 500 and theaggregated application communication list 600; and creating anapplication configuration diagram from the aggregated application list500 and the aggregated application communication list 600.

According to the fifth embodiment, even when a plurality of servicesystems mixedly coexist as objects to be managed by the operationmanagement server 100, application configuration diagrams can be createdthat allow the system administrator to grasp the current configurationat a single glance, by automatically specifying service systems to whichapplications belong and providing aggregated displays of theapplications on the basis of those service systems.

It is to be noted that the fifth embodiment may or may not use theconfiguration change managing unit 109, the setting change managing unit110, the application configuration baseline 800, the applicationconfiguration change list 900, the setting change apply list 1000, thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and the shared applicationlist 1300.

The operation management server 100 of the fifth embodiment may or maynot be provided with the configuration change managing unit 109, thesetting change managing unit 110, the application configuration baseline800, the application configuration change list 900, and the settingchange apply list 1000.

Sixth Embodiment

While in the first embodiment the roles are specified using only thecommunication source addresses 304 and the names 303 of applications,more detailed role classification would be feasible by specifying theroles while taking into consideration the communication destinationaddresses 305 of the applications as well.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention provides a method of, whenthere exist a plurality of applications running on the service executionserver 102 and having different roles and just the same name 303 andcommunication source address 304, acquiring communication destinationaddresses 305 of the applications running on the server, specifying theroles of the applications by the communication destination addresses305, and aggregating the applications on a role-by-role basis, tothereby create an application configuration diagram.

The sixth embodiment includes executing a process of specifying roles ofthe applications from the communication destination addresses 305 of theapplications, in addition to the steps 1401 to 1406 (FIG. 15) describedin the first embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a procedure for specifying the roles ofapplications according to the sixth embodiment.

The application role specifying unit 105 executes the process (thecurrent layer number j=1) of step 1701 described in FIG. 18 (step 2801).

The application role specifying unit 105 executes the process of step1702 (acquiring an application identifier list ApList3 of applicationshaving layer #j as layer identifiers described in the application roleconfiguration list, with the current layer number j=1) described in FIG.18 (step 2802).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether ApList2 is empty(step 2803) and, if ApList2 is empty (Yes at step 2803), terminates theprocedure, whereas if ApList2 is not empty (No at step 2803), itexecutes a process of step 2804.

The application role specifying unit 105 executes the processes fromsteps 1704 to 1706 described in FIG. 18 (step 2804).

The application role specifying unit 105 acquires a communicationdestination list AddrList20 of ApList4 from the application list 300(step 2805).

The application role specifying unit 105 judges whether ApList4 is notempty (step 2806) and, if ApList4 is empty (No at step 2806), executes aprocess of step 2810, whereas if ApList4 is not empty (Yes at step2806), it executes processes from step 2807 onward.

The application role specifying unit 105 extracts an arbitraryapplication identifier App20 described in ApList4, deletes App20 fromApList4, and adds it to the application identifier list ApList5 (step2807).

The application role specifying unit 105 refers to AddrList20 to extractan identifier App21 of an application having the same address as that ofApp20 from ApList4, deletes App21 from ApList4, and adds it to ApList5(step 2808).

The application role specifying unit 105 stores the applicationidentifier 401 and the role identifier 403 (role #k) described inApList5 into the application role configuration list 400, to increment k(step 2809).

The application role specifying unit 105 increments j (step 2810),returning to the step 2802.

To summarize, the sixth embodiments makes use of: the service executionserver list 200 storing addresses of servers such as the serviceexecution servers 102 to be managed by the operation management server100; the application list 300 storing information of applicationsrunning on servers to be managed; the application role configurationlist 400 storing information roles in a service system of applicationsstored in the application list 300; the aggregated application list 500storing information on roles of applications classified by theapplication aggregating unit; and the aggregated applicationcommunication list 600 storing information on role-to-rolecommunications. The sixth embodiment includes the following steps of:specifying application roles in the service systems from the serviceexecution server list 200 and the application list 300 for storage inthe application role configuration list 400; acquiring communicationdestinations of applications described in the application list 300;specifying applications having the same communication destination andbelonging to the same layer to be of the same role; aggregating theapplications on a role-by-role basis from the application list 300 andthe application role configuration list 400; storing the results ofaggregation into the aggregated application list and the aggregatedapplication communication list 600; and creating an applicationconfiguration diagram from the aggregated application list 500 and theaggregated application communication list 600.

According to the sixth embodiment, even when there exist applicationshaving the same communication source address and the same name buthaving different roles, more detailed application configuration diagramscan be created by automatically specifying the above applications asbeing of different roles as long as they have different communicationdestination addresses, and providing aggregated displays of theapplications on a role-by-role basis.

It is to be noted that the sixth embodiment may or may not use theservice system specifying unit 108, the configuration change managingunit 109, the setting change managing unit 110, the service system list700, the application configuration baseline 800, the applicationconfiguration change list 900, the setting change apply list 1000, thephysical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and the shared applicationlist 1300.

The operation management server 100 of the sixth embodiment may or maynot be provided with the service system specifying unit 108, theconfiguration change managing unit 109, the setting change managing unit110, the service system list 700, the application configuration baseline800, the application configuration change list 900, the setting changeapply list 1000, the physical/logical(virtual) server list 1200, and theshared application list 1300.

Although the present invention has been described in detail hereinabovebased on the embodiments thereof referring to the accompanying drawings,the present invention is not to be construed as being limited to theabove embodiments. It is also to be understood that any variants andequivalents fall under the scope of the present invention withoutdeparting from the spirit of the present invention.

1. An information processing apparatus communicatively coupled via anetwork to servers on which a plurality of applications are running foroperating a service system, the information processing apparatuscomprising: a storage unit that stores network addresses of the servers,storing, in a correlated manner, application identification informationas information for identifying the applications, active server addressesas network addresses of the servers on which the applications arerunning, and communication source addresses of the applications; and anapplication aggregating unit acquiring from the storage unit andcomparing the application identification information, the addresses ofthe servers corresponding thereto, and communication source addresses ofthe applications, so that when it is judged that the communicationsource addresses do not coincide with any of the addresses of theservers, the application aggregating unit judges the applications havingthe application identification information as being applicationsbelonging to a first layer in the service system, acquiring from thestorage unit and comparing application identification information of theapplications judged as belonging to the first layer, the active serveraddresses of the applications, and the application identificationinformation and communication source addresses of applications otherthan the applications judged as belonging to the first layer, so thatthe application aggregating unit judges applications having theapplication identification information correlated to the communicationsource addresses identical to the active server addresses as belongingto a second layer; and continuing acquiring from the storage unitcommunication source addresses of applications other than theapplications judged as belonging to the first and the second layer, torepeat the judgment process to judge the layers of each applicationscontained in the service system.
 2. The information processing apparatusof claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus generates anddisplays a configuration diagram representing a correlation status amongthe applications based on the judged layers.
 3. The informationprocessing apparatus of claim 2, wherein the configuration diagram ofthe applications represents the number of applications contained in thelayer for each of the judged layers.
 4. The information processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores the name of eachof the applications, and the application aggregating unit compares thelayer and the name of each of the applications and judges theapplications belonging to the same layer and having the same name asbeing of the same role.
 5. The information processing apparatus of claim4, wherein the storage unit stores communication destination addressesof the applications, and the application aggregating unit acquires fromthe storage unit the communication destination addresses of theapplications having been judged as being of the same role, to judge theapplications judged as having different communication addresses to be ofdifferent roles.
 6. The information processing apparatus of claim 5,wherein when generating and displaying a configuration diagramrepresenting a correlation status among the applications based on thejudged layers, the applications judged as having different roles fromeach other are displayed as different applications from each other evenif they belong to the same layer.
 7. The information processingapparatus of claim 4, wherein the name of the application is a titlecontained in a Web page acquired by communicating with the active serverof the application.
 8. The information processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein the storage unit stores communication destination addresses ofthe applications, and the application aggregating unit acquires theaddresses of the servers, as well as the active server addresses,communication source addresses, and communication destination addressesof the applications from the storage unit, and when it is judged thatthe communication source addresses do not coincide with any of theaddresses of the servers and that the communication destinationaddresses coincide with one of the addresses of the servers other thanthe active server addresses of the applications, the applicationaggregating unit judges the applications as applications belonging tothe first layer.
 9. The information processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein the storage unit stores, in a correlated manner, theapplications and the service system identification information asinformation for identifying the plurality of service systems, and theapplication aggregating unit acquires the service system identificationinformation correlated with the applications judged as belonging to thefirst layer from the storage unit, and judges the layers of each of theapplications for the service system specified by the service systemidentification information.
 10. The information processing apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the storage unit stores, in a correlated manner,combinations of file names of files stored in the server andidentification information of the service systems operated by theserver, and the application aggregating unit communicates with theactive servers of the applications to acquire file names of all thefiles stored in the active servers from the active servers, acquires thecombinations of the file names from the storage unit to compare the filenames acquired from the active servers with the file names acquired fromthe storage unit, and if coincidence of the two is judged, then judgesthat the applications are being used in the service system correlatedwith the combinations of the file names acquired from the storage unit.11. The information processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the storageunit stores application identification information as information foridentifying applications to be active on the service system andidentification information of currently active applications in theservice system, and the application aggregating unit acquires andcompares, between the applications judged as being of the same role,identification information of applications to be active and theidentification information of currently active applications, and if thetwo have a difference, judges the activity of the applications havingthe role as being defective.
 12. The information processing apparatus ofclaim 4, wherein the storage unit stores, in a correlated manner, aphysical server address as a physical server of the servers andaddresses of virtual servers working on the physical server, the storageunit stores on a role-by-role basis the number of shared applicationsthat are applications running on different servers and informationindicative of sharing status of the shared applications, and theapplication aggregating unit acquires application identificationinformation of applications running on active servers having the virtualserver addresses corresponding to the same physical server address,acquires role information corresponding to the applicationidentification information from the storage unit, and if it is judgedthat the shared application information is correlated with the roleinformation, increments the number of the shared applications, whereasif it is judged that the shared application information is notcorrelated therewith, stores the shared information correlated with newrole information into the storage unit.
 13. The information processingapparatus of claim 4, further comprising: a setting change managing unitthat accepts setting change contents information indicative of settingchange contents of the application and the role identifiers correlatedwith the applications executing the setting changes, acquiring from thestorage unit addresses of servers on which the applications correlatedwith the role identifiers run from the storage unit; and sending settingchange contents of the application to the address of the server.
 14. Theinformation processing apparatus of claim 2, wherein display data todisplay a configuration diagram representing the correlation statusamong the applications is generated so as to fall within the data sizemaking up one screen of a display device coupled to the informationprocessing apparatus.
 15. A method of operating an informationprocessing apparatus communicatively coupled to servers on which aplurality of applications are running for operating a service system,the apparatus having a storage unit that stores network addresses of theservers, wherein storing, in a correlated manner, applicationidentification information as information for identifying theapplications, active server addresses as network addresses of theservers on which the applications are running, and communication sourceaddresses of the applications, the method comprising: acquiring from thestorage unit and comparing the application identification information,the addresses of the servers corresponding thereto, and communicationsource addresses of the applications, so that when it is judged that thecommunication source addresses do not coincide with any of the addressesof the servers, the applications having the application identificationinformation are judged as being applications belonging to a first layerin the service system; acquiring from the storage unit and comparingapplication identification information of the applications judged asbelonging to the first layer, the active server addresses of theapplications, and application identification information andcommunication source addresses of applications other than theapplications judged as belonging to the first layer, so thatapplications having the application identification informationcorrelated to the communication source addresses identical to the activeserver addresses are judged as belonging to a second layer; andcontinuing acquiring from the storage unit communication sourceaddresses of applications other than the applications judged asbelonging to the first and the second layer, to repeat the judgmentprocess to judge the layers of each applications contained in theservice system.